The 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs begin Wednesday night with three games, including two from the Western Conference—Vancouver vs. Los Angeles and Nashville vs. Detroit. The remaining five series open over the next two days.

(1) Vancouver Canucks vs. (8) Los Angeles Kings

Season series: Vancouver 2-2-0, Los Angeles 2-1-1

Last playoff meeting: 2010 West quarterfinals, won 4-2 by Vancouver

Vancouver’s big question: How much will an already jittery fan base in British Columbia panic if Jonathan Quick steals Game 1, and how might that change the tone of the series? It’s worth remembering that no team has swept the first round and gone on to win the Stanley Cup since the 2001 Colorado Avalanche—a playoff year that Canucks fans should remember, as they were the team that Colorado swept.

Los Angeles’ big question: Quick is capable of stealing a game or two, but is he capable of stealing four? The Kings scored the second-fewest goals in the league this season, with 194. They were also second in the league in goals against, with 179, but who picks up the offensive slack to keep pace with the high-powered Vancouver attack?

Player to watch: After missing the final nine games of the regular season with a concussion, Daniel Sedin is expected to be ready to return to Vancouver’s lineup for the playoffs, just in time to help a power play that has gone 2-for-35 in his absence. With a 20.4 percent conversion rate during last year’s postseaason, success with the man advantage is key to any hopes the Canucks have of returning to the Finals.

Key fact: The Kings won 40 games this season—a minor achievement, but the first time in franchise history that Los Angeles has strung together three consecutive campaigns with 40 or more victories.

(2) St. Louis Blues vs. (7) San Jose Sharks

Season series: St. Louis 4-0-0, San Jose 0-4-0

Last playoff meeting: 2004 West quarterfinals, won 4-1 by San Jose

St. Louis’ big question: All-Star Brian Elliott led the NHL with a 1.56 goals against average and .940 save percentage, but Jaroslav Halak’s numbers were 1.97 and .926, and Halak appeared in 46 games to Elliott’s 38, not to mention his experience leading the Montreal Canadiens to the 2010 Eastern finals. Who’s in goal to start the playoffs? Coach Ken Hitchcock has said he’ll announce his decision on Thursday.

San Jose’s big question: Has the Sharks’ best opportunity to win the Stanley Cup really come and gone on what is seen as an aging team? San Jose’s two 31-goal scorers this season, Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski, are 23 and 27 years old, respectively.

Player to watch: This series could be a true star turn for St. Louis’ talented 23-year-old forward, David Perron, who scored 21 goals with 21 assists and matched his uniform number with 57 games played after missing more than a year with a concussion suffered on a hit by San Jose’s Joe Thornton—an element of his story that only adds to the drama of this series.

Key fact: While the Canucks would like to replicate the 2001 Avalanche’s feat and start a Stanley Cup run with a sweep, the Sharks are looking to emulate that team’s achievement of winning the Western title after losing in the conference finals the previous two seasons.

(3) Phoenix Coyotes vs. (6) Chicago Blackhawks

Last playoff meeting: Never met, even when the Coyotes were the initial incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets

Phoenix’s big question: After winning the franchise’s first division title, including the Winnipeg days, is this the Coyotes’ last hurrah in the desert?

Chicago’s big question: How much will Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews be able to contribute after missing the final 22 games of the season with a concussion, an injury that left him one goal shy of tallying 30.

Player to watch: Phoenix goalie Mike Smith tied the franchise record with eight shutouts, and set the Coyotes’ single-season save percentage mark, particularly impressive given that the club’s track record of success under Dave Tippett has had so much to do with the strong performance of the goalies who preceded Smith, including Nikolai Khabibulin and Ilya Bryzgalov. Smith is not only worth watching for the challenge he’ll face from a Chicago team that tied Vancouver for the most non-shootout goals in the West, he has the playoffs’ best goalie mask, featuring Wile E. Coyote.

Key fact: This will be the 12th trip to the playoffs for Blackhawks winger Marian Hossa, who has scored 23 of his 36 career postseason goals the last four years.

(4) Nashville Predators vs. (5) Detroit Red Wings

Season series: Nashville 3-3-0, Detroit 3-3-0

Last playoff meeting: 2008 West quarterfinals, won 4-2 by Detroit

Nashville’s big question: Will this be the start of a deep playoff run, giving the Predators momentum to live up to owner Tom Cigarran’s hope of re-signing defensemen Ryan Suter and Shea Weber in addition to the seven-year extension that goalie Pekka Rinne signed during the season?

Detroit’s big question: Will a second-half slide out of position for home-ice advantage prove to be the undoing of future Hall of Famer Nicklas Lidstrom’s potential last shot at a fifth Stanley Cup win?

Player to watch: This season ended a streak of seven straight 20-goal campaigns for Pavel Datsyuk, who finished with 19 after missing 12 games with injuries, but there is a reason that in the NHLPA’s midseason poll, the 33-year-old Russian was named by his peers as the smartest player, most difficult player and toughest forward to play against, cleanest player, hardest player to take the puck from and the player goalies believe is most difficult to stop. Datsyuk is a magician with the puck, and the hockey world is still waiting for conclusive proof that he is not, in fact, a cyborg.

Key fact: A hard-hitting, stay-at-home defenseman to begin with, Predators defenseman Hal Gill—better known by his full name on television broadcasts, Big Hal Gill—really cranks into defensive overdrive in the playoffs. In 105 career postseason games, the 37-year-old blue liner has never scored a goal.